List of Donkey Kong characters

Kongs^[1] are a group of various primates that live on Donkey Kong Island.

The Kong Family^[2][3] (also known as the Kong Klan^[4] and the DK Crew^[5]) is a group led by Donkey Kong comprising his family and friends. They have numerous non-Kong allies who appear throughout the series, and are commonly antagonized by the Kremling Krew, who steal their valuables (and sometimes kidnap members of the Kong family) to further their nefarious goals.^[6][7][8]

Donkey Kong, also known as DK, is a male gorilla. The first character named Donkey Kong is introduced in the original 1981 arcade game as the computer-controlled antagonist who abducts Pauline.^[9] The player must take the role of Mario and rescue her. Donkey Kong is held captive by Mario in Donkey Kong Jr. In Donkey Kong 3, he terrorises a greenhouse. In the Game & Watch game Donkey Kong Hockey, he served as a playable character for the first time.

In 1994's Donkey Kong Country, a new, different-looking Donkey Kong was introduced, said to be the grandson of the original arcade character, who is now the elderly Cranky Kong^[b] (also known as Donkey Kong Sr.)^[10] a grumpy elderly gorilla, known for his scathing fourth wall-breaking commentary. He has appeared as Cranky Kong in a number of Donkey Kong games, primarily as a boastful adviser to Donkey Kong and his various simian friends (in-game and in the instruction manuals), as well as running mini-games and tutorials. His main purpose in Donkey Kong Country is to distribute helpful hints about the game's many stages to the modern Donkey Kong and his sidekick Diddy Kong whenever they drop by his cabin. Donkey Kong Country 2 saw him play a similar role, although this time the player would have to provide enough banana coins to buy specific hints. In Donkey Kong Country 3: Dixie Kong's Double Trouble!, he is the player's opponent in a throwing mini game at Swanky's Sideshow; in the GBA versions of Donkey Kong Country 2 and Donkey Kong Country 3, he hosts several mini-games, and is briefly playable in the Dojo mini-game of the latter. Donkey Kong 64 sees Cranky deal out potions that grant each of the five playable Kongs special abilities and can be purchased at Cranky's Lab. He also hosts the Jetpac game, and will grant the player access to it in exchange for 15 Banana Medals. Cranky has also made cameo appearances in Super Smash Bros. Melee, Super Smash Bros. Brawl, Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS and Super Smash Bros. Ultimate on the Jungle Japes stage, as well as appearing in Donkey Konga and its sequels. He made appearances dispensing tips in DK: King of Swing and DK: Jungle Climber. He is playable in Donkey Kong Barrel Blast. In Donkey Kong Country Returns and its 3DS remake, he runs various shops that sell items and helps the player by giving hints and tips when they leave his shop. In Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze, Cranky becomes playable in the main campaign of a Donkey Kong platformer for the first time. His moveset is based around his cane, which allows him to bounce on spikes.^[11]

The original Donkey Kong is a large and angry gorilla, which Miyamoto said was "nothing too evil or repulsive", and Mario's pet.^[12] Miyamoto has also named "Beauty and the Beast" and King Kong as influences for the character.^[13] The name was derived by Miyamoto from "stubborn ape": Miyamoto used "donkey" to convey "stubborn" in English, while "Kong" was simply to imply him being a "large ape".^[14][15][16]

Donkey Kong Country portrays Cranky as the original Donkey Kong character featured in the 1981 arcade game.^[17] The character retains his stubborn nature and has become an aged, sharp-minded, and disparaging video game veteran who throughout the games distributes advice and useful items. 64 portrays him as an alchemist. He is currently voiced by Takashi Nagasako.^[18] As his name implies, Cranky is perpetually bitter about many things and complains about them to anyone who gives him even the slightest acknowledgment. He is mostly angry about the state of modern video games, once going so far as to complain about how many bits and bytes are used up to simply animate his swinging beard. Every time he sees any such thing he seems to fondly recall his heyday in which he was an 8-bit character.

The Saturday Supercade is the character's first role in a television series. In it, Donkey Kong (voiced by Soupy Sales) has escaped from the circus and Mario (voiced by Peter Cullen) and Pauline (voiced by Judy Strangis) are chasing the ape. As with the original game, Donkey Kong will often grab Pauline and Mario has to save her.

Cranky was a regular on the Donkey Kong Country animated series. He is still as bitter as in the games, but without his fourth wall-breaking comments. His cabin is where the Crystal Coconut, a mystical artifact that predicted DK would become the future ruler of Kongo Bongo Island (as DK Island was called on the series), is kept. Often, Cranky mixes potions, somewhat prefiguring his Donkey Kong 64 role. He was voiced by Aron Tager, and by Ryūsei Nakao in the Japanese dub of the TV series.^[19]

A 2007 documentary, The King of Kong: A Fistful of Quarters, chronicles the competitive following for the arcade version of Donkey Kong.^[20]

The original arcade version of Donkey Kong is the last villain of the 2015 film Pixels.^[21]

Cranky Kong appears in the animated film The Super Mario Bros. Movie, voiced by Fred Armisen. In the film, he is depicted as the ruler of the Jungle Kingdom and leader of the Kong Army. Like in Donkey Kong 64, he is depicted as Donkey Kong's father instead of his grandfather. He is also shown to be disappointed with Donkey Kong as a person.

Donkey Kong Jr.,^[c] also known as DK Jr. or simply Junior, is the protagonist of the 1982 arcade game of the same name and the son of the original Donkey Kong. Junior wears a white singlet with a red letter "J" on it. His objective in the game is to save his father, who was locked by Mario in a cage. He returns in the 1994 Game Boy game Donkey Kong, where he teams up with his father, who has kidnapped Pauline, against Mario. Junior also appeared as a playable character in Super Mario Kart, but was absent in later installments until he returned in Mario Kart Tour. He also appeared in the Virtual Boy game Mario's Tennis, and as a hidden character in the Nintendo 64 version of the similarly named Mario Tennis. He also has his own educational video game for the Nintendo Entertainment System: Donkey Kong Jr. Math. Other appearances by Junior include the Game & Watch games Donkey Kong Jr. (in wide-screen, tabletop and panorama versions) and Donkey Kong II, as well as the Game & Watch Gallery series compilations for Game Boy. He also appears as the physical appearance of the transformed king of World 4 in the Super NES and Game Boy Advance versions of Super Mario Bros. 3. Donkey Kong Junior had his own segment in the first season of Saturday Supercade and was voiced by Frank Welker.^[22] Like his father, he had his own cereal brand in the 1980s.

Shortly before the release of Donkey Kong 64 in 1999, Leigh Loveday, the writer of Donkey Kong Country 2, stated that, as far as he knew, the modern Donkey Kong who appears in Donkey Kong Country onward is a grown-up version of Junior himself.^[23] Cranky Kong refers to Donkey Kong as his son in Donkey Kong 64^[24] and in the manual,^[25] but the manuals for Donkey Kong Country,^[26][27] Donkey Kong Land,^[28] and Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddy's Kong Quest^[29] state that Cranky is the original Donkey Kong and grandfather of the game's titular character.^[30] Later, official sources associated with Super Smash Bros. Brawl,^[31] Super Smash Bros. Ultimate,^[32] Donkey Kong Country Returns,^[33] Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze^[34] and Gregg Mayles of Rare^[35] have stated that the current Donkey Kong is the original Donkey Kong's grandson. In the 2023 Super Mario Bros. film adaptation, Donkey Kong is stated as being Cranky's son.^[36] Post-Super Mario Bros. movie, 2025's Donkey Kong Country HD Cranky is stated to be DK's grandfather^[37], in Donkey Kong Bananza Cranky references a "rival in overalls" and the description for the 8-Bit DK fossil alludes to Cranky in his prime and passing his name and barrel handling skill down to his multiple descendants, implying that DK Junior and modern DK are two different family members of Cranky.^[38]

The character Diddy Kong was going to be an updated version of Donkey Kong Junior, but Nintendo did not like this idea, suggesting either to give him his old look or make him a new character. Rare chose the latter and Diddy Kong was made.^[39]

The new, redesigned Donkey Kong introduced as the main player character in 1994's Donkey Kong Country was said to be the grandson of the original arcade character, who was now the elderly Cranky Kong, Cranky having relinquished his name to him.^[40][41] However, in Donkey Kong 64, Cranky repeatedly refers to the current Donkey Kong as his son (he was senile in that game).^[42] This was reverted to the original grandson relationship in subsequent games such as the Game Boy Advance versions of Donkey Kong Country and Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddy's Kong Quest, Super Smash Bros. Brawl, and Donkey Kong Country Returns. In Yoshi's Island DS, Mario and DK are both babies and two of the Seven Star Children. While Candy Kong is his girlfriend, in the manual for Mario vs. Donkey Kong 2: March of the Minis, he is described as falling in love with Pauline at first sight.^[43]

The modern Donkey Kong is used for the antagonist role typical of the original Donkey Kong in the Mario vs. Donkey Kong series, as well as appearing as a playable character in many Mario spin-off games.

Donkey Kong appears in the animated film The Super Mario Bros. Movie, voiced by Seth Rogen. In November 2021, there were reports that Illumination had begun development on a Donkey Kong spin-off film, with Rogen set to reprise his role.^[44]

Diddy Kong is Donkey Kong's sidekick and nephew who first appeared in Donkey Kong Country. He is also the main character in Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddy's Kong Quest and Diddy Kong Racing.

Wrinkly Kong is an elderly gorilla and the wife of Cranky Kong. Wrinkly first appeared in the game Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddy's Kong Quest for the SNES, where she ran Kong Kollege. She gave the player advice and allowed the player to save their game. She appeared again in Donkey Kong Land 2, and again in Donkey Kong Country 3: Dixie Kong's Double Trouble!. This time, she resided in 'Wrinkly's Save Cave', where the player could both save their game and deposit Banana Birds, which were found throughout the game. This concept remained sans birds in Donkey Kong Land III, where she resided in 'Wrinkly Refuge'. In the Game Boy Advance version of Donkey Kong Country 3, Wrinkly was portrayed as a spiritual follower of the Banana Birds.

Wrinkly next appeared in Donkey Kong 64 as a ghost, having died since the events of Donkey Kong Country 3. Every world lobby in the game, with the exception of Hideout Helm, features five doors with Wrinkly's face on them; when approached, Wrinkly will emerge from the door and present a hint on how to earn one of the world's golden bananas for the Kong of the corresponding color (yellow for Donkey Kong, red for Diddy Kong, blue for Lanky Kong, purple for Tiny Kong, and green for Chunky Kong).

Wrinkly appears as an unlockable playable character in DK: King of Swing, Donkey Kong: Jungle Climber, and Donkey Kong Barrel Blast. She was voiced by Miho Yamada.^[45] She also appears as a trophy in Super Smash Bros. Brawl and Super Smash Bros. for Wii U.

Dixie Kong^[d] is a young female chimpanzee^[46] or monkey^[47] with a ponytail that allows her to grasp and swing from objects. Her first appearance is Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddy's Kong Quest where she and Diddy Kong partner as "inseparable friends"^[2] to rescue DK. Cranky refers to her as "that girlfriend of his". She was also playable in Donkey Kong Land 2.

Dixie later was the protagonist of Donkey Kong Country 3: Dixie Kong's Double Trouble! and Donkey Kong Land III, with Kiddy Kong as her sidekick. While she did not return in Donkey Kong 64, her sister, Tiny Kong, served as her replacement.

Her next playable appearance was in Donkey Konga 2 on the GameCube, a bongo rhythm game. She appeared once again in the Japan-only Donkey Konga 3. She is also a playable character in DK King of Swing for the Game Boy Advance, Diddy Kong Racing DS and Donkey Kong: Jungle Climber for the Nintendo DS, and Donkey Kong Barrel Blast for the Wii.

Dixie Kong is also available as a playable character in Mario Superstar Baseball, which was also Dixie Kong's debut in the Mario franchise. Her next appearance in a Mario game was in Mario Hoops 3-on-3. She later appeared in Mario Super Sluggers. Additionally, she made her debut appearance in the Mario Kart series in Mario Kart Tour for mobile phones.

After a six year-absence following Mario Super Sluggers, she returned in Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze for the Wii U and Nintendo Switch.

Dixie made her return in Donkey Kong Bananza as one of the racers in the Rambi Rumble at the Racing Layer along with Diddy Kong.

Dixie appears in the Donkey Kong Country TV series, where she was voiced by actress Louise Vallance. She is currently voiced by Kahoru Sasajima.^[48]

She has a cameo appearance in The Super Mario Bros. Movie in a scene taking place at the Jungle Kingdom arena.^[49]

Kiddy Kong, known as Dinky Kong^[e] in Japan,^[50] is a large and infantile gorilla that was introduced in Donkey Kong Country 3: Dixie Kong's Double Trouble! as Dixie's cousin.^[51] Later online errata described him as age three and Dixie's "little cousin",^[52] as well as the younger brother of Chunky Kong. Their mission is to solve a series of mysteries in the Northern Kremisphere and find their missing friends Donkey Kong and Diddy Kong. His abilities include water skipping, being able to roll farther to make longer than average jumps, and throwing Dixie high out of normal jump reach, with Dixie being able to throw him and guide his fall to break platforms and unveil hidden secrets.

Kiddy Kong is also playable in Donkey Kong Land III, where he joins Dixie in her quest to prove herself worthy by finding the fabled Lost World before DK, Diddy, and the Kremlings. He does not appear in Donkey Kong 64, but is mentioned in the manual as being the baby brother of Chunky Kong. He appeared as a racer in the trailer for the cancelled Donkey Kong Racing. He has not made any physical appearances in games not developed by Rare, the other two being Chunky Kong and Swanky Kong. In Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, he appears as part of Dixie Kong's upgraded collectible "Spirit".^[53]

Tiny Kong^[f] is a young female gorilla with blonde hair put in pigtails who first appeared in Donkey Kong 64. She is Dixie Kong's younger sister and is a cousin to Chunky Kong and Kiddy Kong, as stated in the manual for Donkey Kong 64.

In Donkey Kong 64, her clothing is a beanie hat, blue overalls, a white T-shirt and white shoes. She is freed by Diddy Kong in the 'Angry Aztec' level in the building near Candy's Music Shop. Her weapon is the Feather Crossbow and her instrument is the 'Saxophone Slam'. The Potion enables her to perform 'Mini-Monkey', 'Pony-Tail Twirl' and 'Monkey-Port'. She can shrink when she jumps into her special barrel, allowing her access to areas other Kongs cannot go. She can do a helicopter-spin, equivalent to Dixie's, to slow down her descent. Out of all the Golden Bananas collected, Tiny gets 6 in the main DK Isles.

Tiny was one of the confirmed characters in Donkey Kong Racing for the GameCube with Donkey Kong, Diddy, Kiddy, and Taj the Genie, but the game was canceled as Microsoft purchased Rare in September 2002.

She makes a cameo appearance in the Game Boy Advance ports of the Super NES games Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddy's Kong Quest and Donkey Kong Country 3: Dixie Kong's Double Trouble!. In Donkey Kong Country 2, Diddy, Dixie, or both must rescue her from the Zingers in a mini-game called Kongnapped, in which the objective is to rescue six of her in order to win. In Donkey Kong Country 3, she appears in one of Funky's Motorboat challenges. These two games are the only games where she is not a playable character.

In her spin-off debut, Diddy Kong Racing DS, she seems to have grown more mature, being both taller and more physically developed than her sister, Dixie. Her clothing now consists of a beanie hat, sweat pants, a midriff-revealing spaghetti-strap top, sandals and fur wristbands, as well as earrings that she did not wear in the previous games. She is one of the first eight playable characters. Her acceleration and handling are slightly below average, and she has a medium top speed.

Donkey Kong Barrel Blast is the first game on the Wii that she appears in. She is unlocked by completing Sapphire Mode on a Rookie Setting as one of the Kongs. She was voiced by Kahoru Sasajima.^[54]

Tiny Kong is also available as a playable character in Mario Super Sluggers, her debut in the Mario franchise.^[55]

She later makes a cameo appearance in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate as a Spirit using her artwork from Donkey Kong 64.

Chunky Kong^[g] is a large gorilla weighing 2,000 pounds and is one of the playable Kongs in the game Donkey Kong 64 where he is the largest of the playable Kongs. Chunky is the older brother of Kiddy Kong and cousin of Dixie Kong and Tiny Kong. He is freed by Lanky in the level Frantic Factory. Before he is freed, he indicates that he does not like heights. Despite his brawny build, he acts somewhat cowardly and childish and lacks some intelligence, indicated by his speaking in third-person broken English. During the attract mode to Donkey Kong 64, all the Kongs are shown in the manner of a hip hop video. Chunky Kong is dressed in a flare-legged disco outfit with an afro hairstyle, but immediately realizes this is out of style (or out of place for rap) and runs off, immediately returning wearing more appropriate clothes. When in the spotlight on the character select screen, he panics and asks the player to choose his cousin Tiny. His weapon is the 'Pineapple Launcher', and his instrument is the 'Triangle Trample'. The potion enables him to perform 'Hunky Chunky', turning gigantic, 'Primate Punch', unleashing a powerful punch that can smash down some doors and walls, and 'Gorilla-Gone', temporarily turning him invisible. He can carry boulders and other heavy items that the other Kongs cannot. It is Chunky, with a combination of the 'Hunky Chunky' and 'Primate Punch' abilities, who ultimately defeats K. Rool in the last boxing match in Donkey Kong 64.

He makes a brief cameo appearance in the Game Boy Advance remake of Donkey Kong Country 3 in the third challenge of Funky's Rentals, where he is one of the Kongs that he has to be rescued from the Kremlings' kidnapping, along with other characters such as Candy, Tiny and Cranky Kong.

In Donkey Kong Barrel Blast, his weapon called the 'Pineapple Launcher' is an item that can be obtained in an item balloon and follows the player ahead of him until it hits them.

He appears as a sticker in Super Smash Bros. Brawl. In Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, he appears as a Spirit using his artwork from Donkey Kong 64.

He has a cameo appearance in The Super Mario Bros. Movie in a scene taking place at the Jungle Kingdom arena.^[49]

Candy Kong^[h] is a female gorilla and Donkey Kong's girlfriend. Candy Kong first appeared in Donkey Kong Country providing save point stations throughout the game. Her second appearance was in Donkey Kong 64; Candy was redesigned, now wearing a bikini and some sneakers.

She also makes a brief appearance in DK: King of Swing, and is seen cheering on the player characters. She wears a pink bikini top and short shorts, and her torso was redesigned (this appearance has remained in subsequent games). In the GBC and GBA remakes of Donkey Kong Country Candy runs challenges and a dance studio respectively. She also makes brief cameo appearances in the GBA remakes of Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddy's Kong Quest and Donkey Kong Country 3: Dixie Kong's Double Trouble!.

In the Game Boy Advance remake of Donkey Kong Country 2 she appears as a model and assistant on Swanky Kong's quiz show, and she wore a purple dress.

She also made a brief appearance in Donkey Kong Barrel Blast in the mode Candy's Challenges and allowed the players to collect up to a total of 1,000 bananas and to win the tracks in first place. She and Swanky Kong are the only two protagonist Kongs who have yet to become playable. She was going to be one of the playable characters in Diddy Kong Pilot, replacing Redneck Kong, but that game was cancelled after Microsoft Game Studios bought Rare.

In a 1995 manga from Comic BomBom, Mario sees Candy wearing a swimsuit and a mask concealing her species, and is infatuated by her.^[56]

Candy was also a regular on the Donkey Kong Country animated series, voiced by Joy Tanner. Instead of being blonde as seen in the games, she has fiery red hair. She works at a barrel factory run by "Bluster Kong", her boss.^[57][58] This version of Candy also has a quick temper.

She was voiced by Satsuki Tsuzumi in video games.^[59]

Funky Kong^[i] is a cool surfer and mechanic gorilla. Initially, he allows the Kongs to go back to worlds they have previously completed, but in Donkey Kong Country 3: Dixie Kong's Double Trouble!, he takes on a different role as a vehicle merchant, allowing Dixie Kong and Kiddy Kong to reach new worlds in the game. In Donkey Kong 64, Funky has switched jobs yet again to become the ammunitions expert of the group, his business seeming to suggest an army surplus store. He supplies various weapons and upgrades to the Kongs, donning camouflage clothing, goggles and a large rocket on his back (which is revealed near the end of the game to contain a giant boot) in favor of his old board shorts and sunglasses. He takes back on his surfer appearance in later games. He is also a playable character in Donkey Kong Barrel Blast, as well as in multiplayer modes of Donkey Konga 3, DK: King of Swing and DK: Jungle Climber. He is currently voiced by Toshihide Tsuchiya.^[60]

Funky is also a regular on the Donkey Kong Country animated series, where he was voiced by Damon D'Oliveira. One difference is that the cartoon version of Funky has tan fur as opposed to the brown fur his video game portrayal has. He was also given a Jamaican accent. Like in the games, Funky is keen on surfing and runs his own airline service. He often talks about karma and is the best dancer on the island. Funky is not fond of adventuring or fighting the Kremlings, nor is he keen on doing much work; he often tries to take the easier way out of a situation, or just leave it up to DK and Diddy.

Funky resurfaces in Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze as the keeper of the Fly and Buy shops, thus taking over the role of shopkeeper from Cranky Kong, who instead becomes a playable character. In the Nintendo Switch enhanced port of Tropical Freeze, Funky also serves as a playable character, headlining the eponymous "Funky Mode" exclusive to that port. In Funky Mode, characters can play as Funky Kong, who has extra health and other perks such as double-jumping and standing on spikes without taking damage. Players can switch between Donkey Kong and Funky while playing in Funky Mode, but Donkey Kong and his partner will both have added health. A save file cannot be changed out of Funky Mode once it has been started.

Outside of the Donkey Kong games, Funky also appears as an unlockable heavyweight character in Mario Kart Wii. He is widely considered to be the best character in the game, due to his speed bonus statistic.^{[citation needed]} His next appearance in a Mario game was in Mario Super Sluggers for the Wii, where he was a playable character along with the other Donkey Kong characters. Funky uses his surfboard as a bat in the game. In Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, he runs a shop in the game's story mode and can be unlocked as a spirit. Additionally, he appears as a playable character in Mario Kart Tour and Mario Kart 8 Deluxe as a part of the game's Booster Course Pass.

Swanky Kong^[j] is a gorilla and an entrepreneur. He first appears as the game show hosts a TV show called "Swanky's Bonus Bonanza" in Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddy's Kong Quest in which Diddy and Dixie must answer questions about the game correctly to win extra lives. The questions range from easy ones such as enemies and worlds featured in the game to more difficult ones such as objects in the background of levels.

After Crocodile Isle is destroyed in Donkey Kong Country 2, Swanky runs "Swanky's Sideshow" in the Northern Kremisphere of Donkey Kong Country 3: Dixie Kong's Double Trouble!. Swanky gives Bear Coins and Banana Bunches as rewards for winning. In Donkey Kong Country 2, he wears a blue oversized jacket and has an afro hair style. In Donkey Kong Country 3, he wears a white long-sleeved shirt, a gold vest, a bowler hat, black pants, black and white shoes, and has a diamond-topped cane.

In the Game Boy Advance version of Donkey Kong Country 2, Swanky's role remains the same except that he now has Candy as his assistant. Upon completing all of his quizzes, Swanky will reward the player with a photo of himself to add to the scrapbook. In the GBA version of Donkey Kong Country 3 (his last appearance), Swanky sports his Donkey Kong Country 2 look and now runs "Swanky's Dash", a virtual reality game where stars are collected as Dixie (as Kiddy is too young to play). If enough stars are collected, Swanky will give the player Bear Coins, Banana Bunches, and Extra Life Balloons. Swanky Kong, like Candy Kong, has never been a playable character. Also, he has not made any physical appearances in games not developed by Rare, the other two being Kiddy Kong and Chunky Kong. His relationship to the Kong Family is unknown.

He also makes a brief cameo appearance in The Super Mario Bros. Movie, where he is caught in a go-kart crash caused by a banana peel.

In Donkey Kong Country, enemy orangutans known as Manky Kong appear. They attack the protagonists by throwing barrels. The game's manual describes the Manky Kongs as "Kong reject orangutans".^[61]

Lanky Kong^[k] is a buffoonish orangutan with neither style nor grace who is a distant cousin to the Kong family. Lanky's first appearance was in Donkey Kong 64 as one of the game's five playable Kongs. He is freed by Donkey Kong in the "Angry Aztec" level in the Llama's Temple. His weapon is the 'Grape Shooter', his instrument is the 'Trombone Tremor', and the potion enables him to perform 'OrangStand', where he walks on his hands to climb steep slopes, 'Baboon Balloon', which allows him to inflate himself to reach higher areas, and 'OrangSprint', which allows him to run fast on his hands. In the level 'Gloomy Galleon', he can transform into Enguarde the Swordfish when he enters the Enguarde Crate. Lanky Kong is known for his lack of style and grace, as well as his funny face.^[62]

Lanky also appears as a non-player character in the Game Boy Advance version of Donkey Kong Country 3.

Lanky's last appearance was in Donkey Kong Barrel Blast (2007). He was voiced by Kentaro Tone.^[63]

The likeness of Lanky Kong appears as a trophy in Super Smash Bros. Brawl and Super Smash Bros. for Wii U, as well as a collectible Spirit in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate. Lanky Kong is also visible on a poster in New Donk City in Donkey Kong Bananza.

The Fruit Kingdom Kings are a group of Kongs from Donkey Kong Jungle Beat who rule their respective territories in the Fruit Kingdoms and have invaded Donkey Kong's home turf.^[64] DK must battle these Kongs by using conventional fighting methods like punching and kicking.

Ghastly King, the head of the group, is a giant and shadowy Kong-like figure who serves as the ruler of the Fruit Kingdoms. It is implied that he put a spell on the other Evil Kings in order to defeat DK. After Ghastly King is defeated, DK becomes the new ruler of the Fruit Kingdoms and Dread Kong, Karate Kong, Ninja Kong and Sumo Kong accept his leadership and congratulate him.

Dread Kong is the ruler of the Banana Kingdom who sports dreadlocks and uses punch attacks. He is the weakest of the four Kongs controlled by Ghastly King.

After appearing in Jungle Beat, Dread Kong reappears in Donkey Kong Jungle Fever and Donkey Kong Banana Kingdom, the two medal games based on Jungle Beat.

Karate Kong is the ruler of the Pineapple Kingdom who is an expert at karate.

After appearing in Jungle Beat, Karate Kong reappears in Jungle Fever and Banana Kingdom. He also appears as a Spirit in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate. His Spirit is represented by Ryu from the Street Fighter series.^[65]

Ninja Kong is the ruler of the Durian Kingdom who is a practitioner of ninjitsu.

After appearing in Jungle Beat, Ninja Kong reappears in Jungle Fever and Banana Kingdom. In Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, Ninja Kong appears as a Spirit that is embodied by Donkey Kong.^[66]

Sumo Kong is the ruler of the Star Fruit Kingdom who is an expert sumo wrestler. He is the largest and strongest of the four Kongs controlled by Ghastly King.

After appearing in Jungle Beat, Sumo Kong reappears in Jungle Fever and Banana Kingdom.

Void Co. (short for Void Company) is an organization of Kongs that appear in Donkey Kong Bananza. They target the Banandium Gems that are underground and run afoul of Donkey Kong and Pauline.

Void Kong is the central antagonist of Donkey Kong Bananza. He is a macaque who is the President of Void Co. that uses a rock-shaped banana with a saddle on it as his mode of transportation. He was also responsible for turning Pauline into Odd Rock. He is fought twice during the game; once in the middle of the game, where he travels across layers, and once as the fake-out final boss, in the "Forbidden Layer". Near the end of the game, he attempts to force Pauline to sing, which would wake what he believes to be the Banandium Root. However, once he turns Donkey Kong into an Odd Rock-like form, which forces Pauline to sing, the "Banandium Root" is revealed to be King K. Rool, who punches Void Kong into his machine. He is unseen for the rest of the game, but post-game dialogue confirms he somehow survived as he was saved by Grumpy Kong.

This section needs expansion. You can help by adding to it. (July 2025)

Poppy Kong is a lutung and the Director of Intelligence at Void Co. who wears expensive clothes and lipstick and is constantly abused by Void Kong.

This section needs expansion. You can help by adding to it. (July 2025)

Grumpy Kong is a large orangutan who is the Director of Manufacturing at Void Co., where he creates monsters to serve the company.

Mario,^[l] originally known as Jumpman,^[m] appeared as the player character in Donkey Kong. He was the antagonist in Donkey Kong Jr., and further appeared as playable in Donkey Kong Hockey.

He returns as a platforming protagonist in Mario vs. Donkey Kong and is ostensibly the one controlling the Mini-Mario toys in its sequels.

Pauline,^[n] originally known as Lady,^[o] was created by Shigeru Miyamoto and other developers for the 1981 arcade game Donkey Kong.^[67] She also appeared in the 1994 Game Boy game of the same name^[68] as well as Mario vs. Donkey Kong 2: March of the Minis and its sequels. Pauline is the earliest example of a female with a speaking role in a video game, and is cited as a famous example of a damsel in distress in fiction.^[69][70][71] In 2017, Super Mario Odyssey marked her debut in the Super Mario series, serving as the mayor of New Donk City. Since then, she has appeared in several other Mario titles.

A 13-year old Pauline appears in Donkey Kong Bananza where she was revealed to have been turned into Odd Rock by Void Kong.

Stanley,^[p] sometimes called Stanley the Bugman, is an exterminator and the protagonist of Donkey Kong 3. Stanley has only made one other prominent appearance as the protagonist of the Game & Watch game Greenhouse, in which he sprays worms attacking his plants. Greenhouse was re-released in Game & Watch Gallery 3, but the modern version stars Yoshi instead. Stanley also appears in Donkey Kong 3 microgames in both WarioWare: Twisted! and WarioWare: Touched! and a trophy of him can be obtained in the game Super Smash Bros. Melee. He also appeared in the Saturday Supercade cartoon.

Kremlings^[q] are an advanced crocodilian species native to Crocodile Isle. Examples of Kremlings include Kritter, which demonstrate a variety of behaviours and ability to use tools,^[72] Klaptrap, which is small and quadrupedal,^[73] and Krockhead, which is more primitive and always submerged in swamps or lava.^[74] They come in many sizes, varieties, and colors. The Kremlings live on Crocodile Isle, and as typical of crocodiles, favour swamps.^[75][76] All of their names begin with the letter K, with the exception of Skidda and Bazuka from Donkey Kong Country 3.

Historically, the Kremling population lived in the Lost World.^[77] The relationship with piracy is traditional since the time of the Kremling Kuthroats.^{[78][79][80][81]} Long ago, the Kremlings fought in the Kremean War against Brigadier Bazooka and his squadron.^[82][83] The Kremling Krew ascension turned the Kremlings into tough soldiers where they became technologically adept.^[84][85][86]

The Kremling Krew is a powerful organization of evil Kremlings, led by King K. Rool, that antagonize the Kongs. This group is composed of commanders (Klump, Kasplat and Kalypso), strong bodyguards (Krusha, Kudgel and Klubba) and troops (Kritters and Klaptraps).^{[87][88][89][90][91][92][93]} Many different animal species (birds, mammals, insects, fish, other reptiles, etc.) reinforce K. Rool and his army.^[94] When Crocodile Isle is destroyed, the organization comes into crisis, with Kremling remnants building several bases in the Northern Kremisphere until they are regrouped by KAOS (which is K. Rool acting in the shadows).^{[95][96][97][98]}

All the Kremlings are part of the Kremling Krew that antagonizes the Kongs with exception of K. Lumsy, who opens up levels for the Kongs in Donkey Kong 64.^{[citation needed]}

After an eighteen-year-long absence, the Kremlings returned to the Donkey Kong franchise in Donkey Kong Bananza, acting as enemies after King K. Rool is revealed.^{[citation needed]}

The Kremlings were originally conceived for a game called Jonny Blastoff and the Kremling Armada, an unreleased point & click adventure game that predated Donkey Kong Country.^[99]

King K. Rool is the main antagonist of the Donkey Kong series. He is an obese green crocodile, who is the leader of the Kremling "Krew". He uses numerous aliases across the series. He first appeared in the original Donkey Kong Country, and reappeared numerous times, up until DK: Jungle Climber, which would be his last appearance in a Donkey Kong game, until his return in Donkey Kong Bananza.

Klumps^[r] are large, rotund members of the Kremling Krew and appear as King K. Rool's second-in-command in various Donkey Kong games.^[100][101] Leading the Kremling Krew army in Donkey Kong Country, a Klump is ordered by K. Rool to steal the Banana Hoard from underneath Donkey Kong's Treehouse, which was being protected by Diddy Kong.^[102] After Klump knocks out Diddy with his "enormous bulk", he instructs the Kremlings to stuff Diddy in a barrel and take off with the bananas.^{[103][104][88]} Klump's main outfit is a green military helmet with three yellow chevrons, a green belt with five pockets, and black boots with white shoelaces. Due to their helmets, they are invincible to Diddy's jump, but Diddy can defeat them with his cartwheel attack, or by throwing a barrel at them. Unlike Diddy, all of DK's attacks can defeat them in a single hit.

According to the manual for Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddy's Kong Quest, the Klumps appear as their pirate alter-ego Kannon.^[2] In this game, they wear earrings, a large belt, pirate boots, a black eye patch and a large black hat with a human skull and crossbones. They are armed with a cannon that allows them shoot barrels and "Kannonballs" (forward or downward). Without their helmets, Klumps are now vulnerable to Diddy and Dixie Kong's attacks.

In Donkey Kong 64, Klumps reappear and are depicted as much larger enemies with a pink coloration. They attack by throwing green unripe Orange Grenades at the Kongs, and the only way to defeat them is by using a shockwave attack or by throwing an Orange Grenade of the Kongs' own. When defeated, they give out a salute and fall over. In the game's introduction sequence, a Klump is ordered by King K. Rool to distract Donkey Kong by stealing the Golden Bananas and kidnapping the Kong Family so that K. Rool can repair his Blast-O-Matic weapon.

A single Klump appears as a playable character in Donkey Kong Barrel Blast. Klump now wears a bucket on his head, and has a brown skin coloration. He shares stats with his rival Lanky Kong. Klump was slated to appear as a playable character in another racing game, the second iteration of Diddy Kong Pilot, which redone as Banjo-Pilot after Rare was acquired by Microsoft. He was replaced with Klungo.

In the Donkey Kong Country animated series, a Klump serves as King K. Rool's second-in-command and is referred to as General Klump, voiced by Adrian Truss. Originally depicted with a tough military-like exterior, Klump actually has quite the soft side to his personality, as seen by him befriending Dixie Kong in the episode "Klump's Lumps". His skin color is also different compared to the games, with him sporting varying shades of green between seasons.

Krushas^[s] are blue Kremlings known for their supreme strength. Due to their strength, only Donkey Kong can defeat them in Donkey Kong Country and Donkey Kong Land. They appear in 2 in pirate gear as Krunchas. Like the previous game, they cannot be defeated with regular attacks, and attempting to attack them will result in Kruncha becoming enraged. They can only be defeated with an animal friend, a crate, a barrel or with Diddy and Dixie teaming-up. Krunchas also appear unchanged in Donkey Kong Country 2's pseudo-sequel Donkey Kong Land 2. Krushas do not appear in Donkey Kong Country 3: Dixie Kong's Double Trouble!, but similar enemies known as Krumples appear in their place.^[92]

Krusha appears as a secret playable multiplayer character in Donkey Kong 64. He has an orange grenade launcher, and he has a sliding ability, similar to Tiny Kong. Similar enemies known as Kasplats appear in the main game. While Krusha does not appear in Donkey Kong Barrel Blast, a similar blue skinned character by the name Kludge does appear. In the US version of Super Smash Bros. Brawl, Krunchas and Krumples are mentioned in Kludge's trophy description.

In the Donkey Kong Country animated series, a Krusha appears as King K. Rool's bodyguard, voiced by Len Carlson.

Kalypso^[t] is a female member of the Kremlings. She appears in Donkey Kong Barrel Blast where she serves as Tiny Kong's rival.^[90]

Kritters^[u] are common enemies in the Donkey Kong franchise and are the main foot soldiers of the Kremling Krew. In the first Donkey Kong Country game, they are usually seen either walking or jumping. Kritters known as Krash appear riding minecarts in the minecart stages. As their name suggests, they are hazards that try to crash into the player. Half of the Kritters became Rock Krocs by Tiki Tong when they died buried in Monkey Mines during the search for ore.^[105][106]

As with most of the Kremlings in Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddy's Kong Quest, Kritters are dressed as pirates and outfitted with peg legs. Those who walk are named Klomp and have one peg, while the jumpers are named Kaboing and have two. The Kritters in Donkey Kong Country 3: Dixie Kong's Double Trouble! lack clothing. The walkers are called Kobble and the jumpers named Koil bounce on their spring-loaded tails.

A single leather jacket-wearing Kritter known as Krunch appears as a playable character in Diddy Kong Racing. In Donkey Kong 64, Kritters are redesigned and appear sporting similar leather jackets to Krunch, as well as belt buckles with skulls on them. Two specific Kritters are seen piloting K.Rool's Mechanical Island, chasing after one of the Kongs, and serving as referees during the final battle. Krashes also reappeared in Donkey Kong 64, but they were redesigned to be much more muscular, wielding clubs to smack the Kongs with. Skeletal and robotic variants of Kritters also appear in Donkey Kong 64.

In DK: King of Swing, Kritters appear as enemies in the main game mode and as a playable character in the game's multiplayer mode. King of Swing would mark the debut of their current muscular design. Kritters appear mostly unchanged in the game's sequel, Jungle Climber. A single Kritter appears as racer in Donkey Kong Barrel Blast, sharing the same balanced stats as his rival Donkey Kong.

They would make their Mario franchise debut as spectators in Mario Power Tennis. In the Mario Strikers series, a Kritter serves as a goalie for each team (except Mario Strikers: Battle League). A Robo-Kritter serves as the goalie for a robotic team in Super Mario Strikers. In Mario Super Sluggers, Kritters appear as playable characters and members of the DK Wilds team.

Kritters appeared as trophies in Super Smash Bros. Brawl, Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS and Super Smash Bros. for Wii U, as well as stickers in Brawl. They also appeared as enemies in the 3DS exclusive Smash Run mode, with Green Kritters attacking by biting three times in a row, while Blue Kritters attack by spinning around furiously with their claws.

They also appear in the Donkey Kong Country animated series, reprising their roles from the games.

Klaptraps^[v] or Klap Traps are recurring enemies in the Donkey Kong games. They closely resemble the enemy known as Snapjaw from the arcade game Donkey Kong Jr. They appear as small crocodiles with large mouths and come in a variety of colors, but most commonly blue. Similar enemies known as Klampons and Krimps appear in Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddy's Kong Quest and Donkey Kong Country 3: Dixie Kong's Double Trouble! respectively.

Klaptraps would appear as stage hazards and as a collectable trophy in Super Smash Bros. Melee, and they would reprise their role as stage hazards in future games in the Super Smash Bros. series, as well as becoming Assist Trophies in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate.^[107] They would also appear as hazards and enemies in certain Mario spin-offs, such as Mario Power Tennis, Mario Superstar Baseball and Mario Party 7.^[108]

Klaptraps also appear in the Donkey Kong Country animated series. A large Klaptrap known as Jr. Klap Trap or simply Jr. appears as a minor character in the TV series, voiced by Ron Rubin.^[109]

Animals and other enemies called "baddies"^[110] appear throughout the franchise.

• Oil Drum - In the original game, Country, Land, and Mario vs Donkey Kong 2: March of the Minis, Oil Drums produce fire and enemies that can harm the player character. Country also features an Oil Drum boss named Dumb Drum.
• Nitpicker - Nitpickers^[111][112] or simply "Birds" appear in Donkey Kong Jr., Donkey Kong Jr. Math, Donkey Kong for Game Boy, March of the Minis, and Minis March Again.
• Snapjaw - group of anthropomorphic metal foothold traps with a powerful bite first appearing as vine-climbing enemies in Donkey Kong Junior.^[113] In Captain N: The Game Master, they have the outer appearance of piranhas, which carries into their appearance in Country 2. The character appears in a past setting in Yoshi's Island DS, climbing vines and only featuring in stages with Baby DK. Klaptrap is visually similar to the original incarnation of Snapjaw.
• Gnawty - A race of beavers that appears in Donkey Kong Country, Donkey Kong Land, Donkey Kong 64 and Banjo-Kazooie. Very Gnawty and Really Gnawty are bosses. Analogous rat enemies Neek and Sneek appear in the rest of Rare's Donkey Kong platformers.
• Army - A race of armadillos that appears in Donkey Kong Country, Donkey Kong Land. One Army serves as a boss in Donkey Kong 64.
• Necky - A race of vultures that appear in Country, Land, Country 2, Land 2, King of Swing, Jungle Climber and Barrel Blast. Master Necky and Master Necky Sr. are bosses.
• Zinger - A race of hornets from a large and complex hive on Crocodile Isle. They appear in Country, Land, Country 2, Land 2, and 64. Their monarchs are the bosses Queen B and King Zing.

Diddy Kong Racing (1997) for the Nintendo 64 introduced several characters to the Donkey Kong franchise, some of which have appeared in other games by Rare. While Nintendo lost intellectual property rights to most of them in 2002, estranging them from Donkey Kong, they reappear in the Nintendo DS remake Diddy Kong Racing DS in 2007, except Banjo and Conker, who were replaced by Dixie and Tiny.

• Timber - A tiger whose parents go on holiday to Donkey Kong Island and leave him in charge of their home, Timber's Island, prompting Timber and his friends to organize a race. This is interrupted when a sinister intergalactic pig-wizard named Wizpig arrives at Timber's Island and attempts to take it over after having conquered his own planet.^[114] Timber hires a team of eight racers: Diddy Kong, Conker, Banjo, Krunch, Tiptup T.T., Pipsy, and Bumper to defeat Wizpig. Timber later establishes a hip-hop career.^[115] Timber was originally intended to be the main protagonist of a fourth entry of the R.C. Pro-Am series, titled Pro-Am 64. Miyamoto suggested adding Diddy Kong to the game and making him the main character.
• Drumstick - A rooster and the best racer on Timber's island, he is transformed into a frog by Wizpig's magic.^[114] After Wizpig is defeated, Drumstick is turned back into a rooster and unlocked as a racer.^[114]
• Conker the Squirrel - Conker is a squirrel and friend of Diddy Kong whom he recruited to defeat Wizpig. Conker debuted in Diddy Kong Racing as a promotion for the upcoming game Twelve Tales: Conker 64. After the release of Conker's Pocket Tales (1999) for Game Boy Color, Twelve Tales was retooled for an older audience, becoming Conker's Bad Fur Day (2001), and Conker was reimagined as a fourth-wall breaking alcoholic armed with guns and knives.^[116] In 2002, Microsoft acquired Rare, causing Nintendo to lose the rights to the character. In a later exegesis in reference to Diddy Kong Racing, Conker states that "things were different back then, you know, I was different - it goes without saying that you wouldn't catch me hanging out with any of those freaks these days".^[117]
• Banjo - Banjo is a bear and friend of Diddy Kong whom he recruited to defeat Wizpig. Banjo made his debut as a playable character as part of the cast of Diddy Kong Racing to promote the forthcoming release of Banjo-Kazooie (1998); the game was followed by several further Banjo-Kazooie games. Microsoft acquired the Banjo franchise in 2002 as part of Rare. In 2019, Banjo and his friend Kazooie were revealed as part of the first Fighter Pass for Super Smash Bros. Ultimate in a trailer set at Donkey Kong's treehouse, acknowledging Banjo's origins in the Kongs' world.
• Krunch - A Kremling and Diddy's enemy, who follows after him. Krunch is the only character created for Diddy Kong Racing whose rights were retained by Nintendo in the Microsoft acquisition.^[118]
• Tiptup - A turtle with a nervous personality who lives on Timber's Island. Tiptup reappears in Banjo-Kazooie inside "Tanktup's Shell" in Bubblegloop Swamp with his own choir. Tiptup can also be found in Banjo-Tooie in the Turtle View Cave in Jolly Roger's Lagoon. He states that he has nineteen daughters; Banjo-Tooie depicts the birth of his first son. Tiptup also makes a cameo appearance in Banjo-Pilot, where he can be found in Clanker's River.
• T.T. - A living stopwatch who lives on Timber's Island and is in charge of the race courses.
• Pipsy - A mouse who lives on Timber's Island. The design of Pipsy was originally intended for the main character of a game called Astro Mouse, which was cancelled. This character was redesigned by Kevin Bayliss and included in Diddy Kong Racing as Pipsy.^[119]
• Bumper - A badger who lives on Timber's Island. In May 2012, Bumper is serving time in prison.^[120] He later makes parole, and is superficially remorseful for his actions.^[121]
• Taj - An Indian elephant-like genie residing on the island who aids Diddy and his friends. He is a playable racer in Diddy Kong Racing DS.
• Tricky - A Triceratops who is one of Timber's Island's four guardians. He is the first boss in Diddy Kong Racing. A character named Prince Tricky in Star Fox Adventures was originally intended to be the same character as the Tricky in Diddy Kong Racing. Nintendo now owns the rights to the Prince Tricky incarnation of the character.^[122]
• Wizpig - The extraterrestrial wizard Wizpig is the main antagonist in Diddy Kong Racing. He is a giant pig from the planet Future Fun Land who seeks to conquer an island.^[114] Wizpig turns the island's four guardians (Tricky the Triceratops, Bluey the Walrus, Bubbler the Octopus and Smokey the Dragon) into his henchmen. Ultimately, the rocket he rides on malfunctions and launches him to the moon, but an additional cutscene reveals Wizpig's spaceship flying through the sky, unscathed.^[114] He is a playable racer in Diddy Kong Racing DS.

The Tiki Tak Tribe are a primitive group of Tiki-like demons resembling musical instruments who are the main antagonists in Donkey Kong Country Returns and its 3DS remake. Emerging from a volcanic eruption at the start of the game, the higher-ranking members of the Tiki Tak Tribe use hypnosis-inducing harmonic patterns on Donkey Kong Island's wildlife (consisting of elephants, giraffes, zebras and squirrels) to seize any banana in sight, even from Donkey Kong's banana hoard, forcing him to retrieve it with the help of Diddy Kong,^[123] as the tribe's spell does not work on them.

The tribe is led by Tiki Tong, a gigantic and bongo drum-like Tiki.

Eons before the events of Returns, Tiki Tong was responsible for resurfacing an island with his volcanic eruption power to establish his reign, creating his tribe across the entire island and enslaving animals.^[106] His tyranny ended when the Kongs provoke a rebellion, imprisoning him in the island's volcano, along with his subjects, as the island is claimed by the Kongs.^[106]

As the game begins, Tong resurfaces and tries to take back the island. Before the final battle against Tiki Tong, it is revealed that the Tikis use bananas as an energy source; Tong generates a pair of hands by grinding the remainder of the bananas they acquired and spewing their juice onto his commanders.^[124]

Krazy Kalimba is first member of the Tiki Tak Tribe seen in the game and the most prominent in the game's advertising, being a small Tiki with red and light blue paint and a crown of wooden tines on his head evocative of the keys of his namesake instrument. He unsuccessfully tries to hypnotize Donkey Kong with his tribe's spell before getting pummeled and knocked out of DK's treehouse into the jungle. When later confronted, Kalimba hypnotizes and takes control of the game's first boss Mugly to combat the Kongs, only to be defeated and punched into the distance once more.

The Maraca Gang are a trio of otherwise unnamed Tiki bosses who resemble feather-adorned maracas. Donkey Kong and Diddy encounter them in the game's beach area, where they hypnotize and possess a trio of crab pirates known as the Scurvy Crew to combat the Kongs.

Gong-Oh is the third Tiki boss, resembling a wooden slab bearing a metal gong with a sun emblem on it and hands resembling percussion mallets. Appearing in the ruins area, he hypnotizes and possesses a large egg in a golden cauldron which hatches into a bomb-dropping bird named Stu to combat the Kongs.

Banjo Bottom is the fourth Tiki boss, resembling a banjo adorned with gold feathers. He leads Donkey Kong Island's local mole miners in transporting bananas across it and, when confronted by the Kongs, he forces their train hauling them to depart immediately, hypnotizing and possessing the moles' leader Mole Miner Max to fight back.

Wacky Pipes is the fifth Tiki boss, being a wooden sphere adorned with ropes, cyan, blue and gold feathers and a trio of flute-like pipes protruding from his head. He lurks up in the treetops of the island's forest, and upon seeing the Kongs infiltrating his base, he hypnotizes and possesses a large plant-like and electrokinetic caterpillar named Mangoruby in an ill-fated attempt to combat them.

Xylobone is the sixth Tiki boss, resembling a trilobite-like xylophone with hands similar to Gong-Oh's. Upon Donkey Kong and Diddy's arrival to his part of the cliffs, he disembarks from one of his tribe's airships to hypnotize and possesses Thugly, a relative of Mugly, to combat them.

Cordian is the seventh and final Tiki boss outside of Tiki Tong, who has the bellows of an accordion topped with an orange feather on his head. He runs the factory near the Tiki Tak Tribe's base, where he oversees a mass production of his tribe's soldiers by means of filling empty wooden husks with mashed-up bananas. When confronted by Donkey Kong and Diddy, he hypnotizes and possesses Colonel Pluck, a chicken controlling his Stompybot 3000 mech used for the banana mashing, to try and stop them.

Tiki Goons are the most common members of the Tiki Tak Tribe. They make a cameo appearance in Mario Kart 7 on the track DK Jungle where they attack players and make them drop coins. They reappear in Mario Kart 8 and Mario Kart 8 Deluxe, performing the same function. Several different Tikis appear as collectible trophies in Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS and Wii U, as well as a group 'Tiki Tak Tribe' Spirit in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate.

The Snowmads are an organization of hegemonic Chionophile seafarers based on stereotypical depictions of Vikings that are the main antagonists of Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze. They have claimed Donkey Kong Island as their territory, which prompts Donkey Kong, Diddy Kong, Dixie Kong and Cranky Kong to band together in order to reclaim Donkey Kong Island.

In Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS and Wii U, several members of the Snowmads appear as collectible trophies.

Lord Fredrik, the Snowmad King is a large and obese walrus who uses his enchanted blowing horn to throw the entire island into a state of perpetual winter. He additionally appears as a Spirit in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate that is embodied by King K. Rool.^[125]

Lord Fredrik's name in European French is Sire Frighorrifik (corruption of "frigorifique", meaning "refrigerated"), in German Seine Frostigkeit König Qual ("His Frostiness King Torment"), in Italian Renaldo, il re dei Ghiacci Reynold ("the King of Ices"), and in Spanish Frigorico I, el Rey Morsario ("Frigorico I, the Corsair-Walrus King"). Frigorico here is a portmanteau of frigo, meaning "fridge", and the given name Frederico. Morsario is a play on morsa, meaning "walrus", and corsario, meaning "corsair".

Animal Friends,^[126] also known as the Animal Buddies,^[127] Amicable Animals,^[128] and Jungle Buddies,^[129] are friendly animals who the Kongs can ride, transform into, or have perform various tasks. Among the known animal friends are:

• Rambi - An Indian rhinoceros who originated in Donkey Kong Country, where he can ram through enemies and walls. Rambi is also featured in Land, Country 2, Land 2, 64, Barrel Blast, Returns, Tropical Freeze, and Bananza. Baby rhinos strongly resembling Rambi called RamRams appear in Mario vs. Donkey Kong. In Mario Kart DS, Donkey Kong's first exclusive kart, the Rambi Rider, has Rambi's head on it.
• Expresso - A sneaker-wearing common ostrich who originated in Country and can run fast. He can also fly for a short amount of time. Expresso is also featured in Land and a minigame in the Game Boy Advance re-release of Country 2.
• Winky - A frog who appears in Donkey Kong Country and can jump higher than the Kongs and defeat more types of enemies with his jump attacks.
• Enguarde - A swordfish with a thrust attack who appears in all of Rare's Donkey Kong platformers except Land, also appearing in Barrel Blast and Tropical Freeze.
• Squawks - A parrot who appears in all of Rare's Donkey Kong platformers except Land. In these games, except Country, he can carry Kongs through the air. In Country and 64 he carries a spotlight to increase visibility in dark levels. In the second and third entries in the Country and Land series, he can spit crackers, which can defeat most enemies. Squawks appears as a usable item in Barrel Blast, Returns and Tropical Freeze.
• Squitter - A sneaker-wearing spider who originated in Country 2. His abilities include shooting webs that defeat enemies and enemy projectiles, and creating web platforms to walk on to cross gaps and avoid hazards. Squitter was also featured in Land 2, Country 3, and Land III.
• Rattly - A rattlesnake who originated in Country 2. Rattly can coil up and bounce high, and the Kongs can also ride him.
• Clapper - A seal who originated in Country 2. His arctic breath can cool and freeze water.
• Glimmer - A bioluminescent anglerfish who originated in Country 2. Like Squawks in the previous DKC game, it can shine a spotlight to increase visibility in dark underwater levels.
• Quawks - A parrot who originated in Country 2. He is a blue counterpart of Squawks that cannot spit eggs or fly upwards, being only able to carry the Kongs in a slow descent while avoiding obstacles. He reappears in Country 3 where he is now dark purple and gains the ability to fly anywhere and pick up and throw barrels. Quawks is also featured as a usable item in Barrel Blast.
• Ellie - An African elephant who originated in Country 3. She can carry barrels and squirt water that she sucks up. Ellie is afraid of mice like Sneeks so the Kongs must have her pick up a barrel and toss it at the mice to eliminate them. In later games, Ellie does not have a fear of mice.
• Parry - A pheasant-like Parallel Bird who originated in Country 3. Once found, he flies above wherever the players go, collecting out-of-reach objects. He can also defeat certain enemies, such as "Booty Birds", but is vulnerable to others like the mechanical "Buzzes".
• Lightfish^[130] - A tadpole-like fish that originated in DK64. It has a light that shines when the Kongs are in the shipwrecks in Gloomy Galleon.
• Hoofer - A wildebeest who originated in Jungle Beat. Like Rambi, Hoofer can ram into barriers and enemies.
• Orco - An orca who originated in Jungle Beat. Like Enguarde, Orco can smash through underwater barriers and enemies.
• Professor Chops (referred to as Tutorial Pig in Returns) - A pig who appears in the Retro Studios-developed Country titles. He serves as a middle-gate to save Donkey Kong's progress in a level. In Returns exclusively, if DK loses most of his lives, the professor offers his help to complete the level. Also, he gives tips and tricks while Donkey Kong is near an obstacle as well as giving tips to the Kongs.
• Whale - An unnamed sperm whale who originated in Returns. It only appeared in the level "Blowhole Bound" where Donkey Kong and Diddy Kong free it from an anchor and it gives them a ride along the shores of Donkey Kong Island.
• Tawks - A red parrot who originated in the Nintendo Switch version of Tropical Freeze. He replaces Funky Kong at Funky's Fly 'n' Buy whenever he is journeying with the other Kongs.

The Brothers Bear are a race of anthropomorphic bears who live in the Northern Kremisphere in Donkey Kong Country 3: Dixie Kong's Double Trouble! There are 15 of them located throughout the Northern Kremisphere.

• Bazaar - A brown bear who runs a general store in the Northern Kremisphere. He has the most dialogue out of the Brothers Bear. He mentions having met Link once.^[131]
• Barnacle - A grizzly bear that lives on an island in the middle of Lake Orangatanga. He is a former scuba diver and sailor.^[132][133] In the GBA version, he was moved to Pacifica.
• Brash - A boastful brown bear that lives in Kremwood Forest. He is an athlete who is at his happiest when he is undefeated in a sport.^[134]
• Blunder - A grizzly bear that lives in a booth (library in the GBA remake) within Kremwood Forest. In his rude ramblings, he often lets clues slip to where the Lost World of Krematoa can be found.
• Blue - A blue bear who lives in a beach house in Cotton Top Cove. He has a sad personality, especially when he claims that no one came to his birthday party. The Kongs manage to cheer him up by giving him a birthday present that Blizzard has them deliver.
• Bramble - A brown bear that lives in a cabin near Cotton Top Cove. He is a botanist who has an interest in plants and flowers.
• Brigadier Bazooka - A grizzly bear who lives in his barracks on Mekanos Island. He is an old war veteran who fought in the Kremean War. His prized possession is a huge cannon named Big Bessie.
• Blizzard - A polar bear who lives in a base camp at the top of K3 and is best friends with Blue. In the Game Boy Advance remake, he's a grizzly bear.
• Barter - A brown bear who lives in his shop near K3.
• Benny - A polar bear who operates one of the chairlifts at Razor Ridge. He is the twin brother of Björn and was named after Benny Andersson of ABBA.
• Björn - A polar bear who operates one of the chairlifts at Razor Ridge. He is the twin brother of Benny and was named after Björn Ulvaeus of ABBA.
• Baffle - A brown bear who lives in his code room in KAOS Kore.
• Boomer - A grizzly bear who lives in his bomb shelter in Krematoa. He is a demolition expert and only collects Bonus coins. The Kongs need to talk to him to clear the paths to each stage in Krematoa.
• Bear - A black bear who is exclusive to Donkey Kong Land III. He runs a Sheepy Shop in each location.
• Bachelor - A brown bear who is exclusive to the Game Boy Advance version of Donkey Kong Country 3 and lives on the island at the center of Lake Orangatanga where Barnacle used to live in the original game.

Snide is a weasel who originated in Donkey Kong 64. He was once King K. Rool's chief technician who had invented the Blast-O-Matic and other devices that the Kremlings have used. King K. Rool fired him due to a paranoia that Snide was going to betray him. Snide moved to Donkey Kong Isle where he set up his headquarters. He aids the Kongs by giving them blueprints to the Kremling devices.

Troff the Pig and Scoff the Hippopotamus are animals who originated in Donkey Kong 64. When Scoff is fed a specific amount of bananas, he will lift Troff to reach the key to the boss door.

The Underground World Elders are a group of giant elders in Donkey Kong Bananza that reside in the Underworld World. Donkey Kong learns his Bananza transformation abilities from each of them as Pauline performs for each of them.

• The Kong Elder is a gorilla who turns Donkey Kong into a larger Kong and grants him with enhanced strength.
• The Zebra Elder is an anthropomorphic zebra who turns Donkey Kong into a zebra enabling him to move fast enough to defeat enemies.
• The Ostrich Elder is an anthropomorphic ostrich who turns Donkey Kong into an ostrich enabling him to glide and drop egg bombs.
• The Elephant Elder is an anthropomorphic elephant with banana-shaped tusks who turns Donkey Kong into an elephant enabling him to suck up anything on the terrain with his trunk.
• The Snake Elder is a giant snake who turns Donkey Kong into a snake enabling him to jump higher and use his glare to slow down time.

This table catalogues appearances of characters that have been playable in the Donkey Kong series. An animal friend being merely ridable is considered here as a non-playable appearance, while a Kong transforming into the animal is considered the animal being playable.

Character	Original							Country					Land			Racing		3D		Bongo				Mario vs.							DK
	DK	Jr.	II	3	JM	H	C	DKC	2	3	R	TF	DKL	2	III	DKR	BB	64	B	K	K2	K3	JB	MvDK	2	MMA	MLM	MotM	TS	AC	KoS	JC
	OG DK /Cranky	NPC	NPC	NPC	[w]				[w]	NPC	[w]	NPC		NPC	NPC	NPC			NPC	NPC	NPC												NPC
Mario		NPC	NPC				NPC		NPC										?						Toy	Toy	Toy	Toy	Toy	Toy
Pauline	NPC																	NPC							NPC	NPC	Toy	Toy	Toy
DK Jr.	NPC[x]																		?
Stanley																			?
DK (modern)									NPC	NPC				NPC										NPC	Toy	Toy	Toy	Toy	Toy	Toy
Diddy										NPC									NPC											Toy
Kritter								NPC					NPC					NPC	?
Rambi											NPC	NPC	NPC						NPC	NPC		NPC
Enguarde												NPC							?		NPC
Winky									NPC										?			NPC
Expresso									NPC[x]				NPC						?
Squawks								NPC			NPC	NPC				NPC[x]	NPC	NPC	?		NPC
Funky								NPC	NPC	NPC		[w]	NPC	NPC	NPC			NPC	?
Krusha								NPC					NPC						?
K. Rool								NPC	NPC	NPC			NPC	NPC	NPC			NPC	?	NPC												NPC
Dixie																[x]			NPC
Wrinkly									NPC	NPC				NPC	NPC			NPC	?													NPC
Rattly																			?
Squitter																			?
Kiddy																			?
Ellie																			?	NPC
Pipsy																			?
Timber																			?
Bumper																			?
Conker																[y]			?
Tiptup																			?
Drumstick																			?
Banjo																[y]			?
Krunch																			?
Taj																[w]			?
Wizpig																[w]			?
Lanky										NPC[x]									?
Tiny										NPC[x]						[x]			?
Chunky										NPC[x]									?
Jetman																			?
Bubbles																			?

• List of Mario characters
• List of Super Smash Bros. characters